Water and wine

After chilling in Chile (sorry couldn't resist) we headed over the Andes (past Aconcagua, the tallest mountain in S. America at nearly 7000m) to Mendoza, the capital of the Argentinean wine industry. It would have been very easy not to move much in Mendoza - it is a beautiful city, with tree lined streets, classy squares, a European cafe culture and Mediterranean weather - but as we had no more excuses after a relaxing time in Santiago, we felt we needed to spice things up ...


We of course participated in the obligatory wine tour, but rather than sitting in the back of bus we got our legs going and cycled around instead (approx 30kms), enjoying great weather, views and tasting some fun wine. Malbec is big in the region, but it doesn't have enough bite for us. So we discovered that when it is mixed with a Cab Sav you get a sweet combination which we were able to fully enjoy in the BYO restaurants!

On our last day we left the comfort of land for some white water rafting on the Rio Mendoza. This was the first time for both of us, but it also turned out to be the first time for one of the kayakers...

...and we soon found ourselves part of a rescue mission! We noted with some mischief that two hours after we had got back, the poor chap was still shaking.